Ride the rails or visit Montreal train museum to entertain your family

Dozens of antique trains are on exhibit in the Angus Pavilion of Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, in St-Constant.

This 1928 Canadian National snowplow used steam to power its massive rotating blades.

Kids see them as big, powerful people-movers. For adults, they conjure up romantic images of bygone days. Trains are always a good bet when you want to amuse the family, whether on weekends or during school break.

Exporail

The place to do that is Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, in St-Constant, 20 kilometres south of Montreal. This excellent museum is nirvana for rail fans.

Its Angus Pavilion is a sprawling warehouse packed with 44 vehicles on exhibit, from Montreal streetcars to steam engines to mail cars. You can enter and walk around many, imagining what trips must have been like when they were in service.

Also popular: a massive rotary snowplow used by Canadian National from 1930 to 1960.

In addition to historical artifacts on display, the museum has an impressive model railroad setup, measuring five by 13 metres.

Seventy-five-minute guided tours (in English and French) are offered in the afternoon.

You can’t ride Montreal tramway cars around the museum grounds during the winter, but when spring arrives the museum’s popular open-air miniature train is taken out of hibernation. Rides are offered at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Early in the year, the museum is normally open only on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it opens during weekdays during the warmer months.

Admission is $8 for children ages 4 to 12, $9.75 for those ages 13 to 17, and $16.50 for adults. If you have an AMT Opus transit card, you can get a 10 per cent discount.

For more information, visit exporail.org.

Suburban trains

It’s not exactly the Orient Express, but a commuter train can provide thrills to train lovers.

Montreal is home to five suburban lines serving downtown, with two going west, two south and one north.

Children ages 11 or younger accompanied by an adult holding a valid ticket or pass travel for free at all times on trains operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport.

When planning your trip, make sure there will be a convenient return departure.

All five AMT lines operate on weekdays, with service concentrated at rush hour. Service is much thinner on weekends. The Deux-Montagnes and Vaudreuil-Hudson lines run on a reduced schedule. St-Jérôme only runs between Laval and St-Jérôme. Neither the Candiac nor the Mont-St-Hilaire line operates on weekends.

Montreal’s subway fascinates kids. The system has four lines and 68 stations. Children under 6 always travel free on Société de transport de Montréal buses and the métro. On weekends, holidays and during school break, up to five children aged 11 and under travel free when accompanied by a fare-paying adult. For more information, visit stm.info.

Via Rail

Several of the national passenger service’s routes include Montreal, but you don’t have to go to Toronto or the Gaspé to enjoy riding the rails. Instead, jump on a train to Cornwall, Brockville or Drummondville, and then return to Montreal.

Children under 2 travel free. Kids ages 2 to 11 get half-price tickets in economy class.

To consult routes and schedules, visit viarail.ca. For details on fares for children, click “fares and packages” and then “discounted fares.”

Amtrak

The U.S. passenger service offers one trip per day on its Adirondack train, between Montreal and New York City’s Penn Station. It’s a picturesque journey, taking passengers along the Hudson River and Lake Champlain and through the Adirondack Mountains. But at 11 hours, the Adirondack is not for people in a rush.

On Amtrak, children under 2 ride free. Those 2 to 15 get a 50 per cent discount on the lowest available adult fare.

For more information, visit amtrak.com. For details on fares for children, click “deals” and then “passenger discounts.”

For more information:

Prepare the kids by visiting train websites. Library and Archives Canada offers a detailed history of our railways, including photos, audio and video.

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